Summoning the Dragon
by Highfunctioning Hufflepuff
Summary: Part one of a two-shot. What if the Dragon of the Darkness Flame were an actual conscious creature that Hiei had to bargain with?   "There was no glory in it. Not the first time. No glory, and certainly no satisfaction."


There was no glory in it. Not the first time. No glory, and certainly no satisfaction. It was nothing but stupidity and risk and the knowledge that he had been too cocky.

While training, he had preached to the others about the folly of underestimating the strength of an opponent and the danger of overestimating one's own. Since when had he failed to heed his own advice? He had come to the Dark Tournament expecting no problems from the first three rounds save Kuwabara's stupidity. A child's mistake: incredibly foolish and so, so deadly.

And so he'd stood there, through no-one's fault but his own, facing down an opponent whose strength he couldn't hope to outmatch. At least, not without using a hazardous technique that he'd never even considered attempting. He underestimated Zeru and, as a result, was forced to take a dangerous risk. No, there was no glory in that. Humiliation, perhaps, but certainly no glory. It was nothing but exhilaration and uncertainty and the confident front he put up to mask his weakness.

Though he would never admit it, he had been uneasy when he called forth the Dragon. After ridding the ward from his Jagan he had reached for the fires of Hell and broadcast all of his energy as a lure. He'd let the blood lust and battle thirst he felt taint the thoughts he sent out, hoping that the promise of chaos might further entice the unholy beast to make an appearance. But or all his bluff and bluster, he hadn't been certain that he could convince the Dragon to come to him. And if he did, what then? Could he keep it from obliterating more than his opponent? Could he save his companions from its Hellfire? By the time he had realized that he might have been making an even bigger mistake than he'd previously thought, it had been too late.

The earth shook and groaned. The sea boiled beneath the cliffs. Black fire ripped holes in the sky. Beautiful. Terrifying. So much more than he'd anticipated. He watched Zeru's eyes widen and, despite the aggravation he felt at his own carelessness, a small thrill ran through him. A jolt of excitement that hit him every time he attempted to outmaneuver his own destruction. It was time to Do or Die.

Hiei roared with both shock and pain as flames engulfed his body, burning his skin without leaving so much as a mark on his flesh. He felt a thick wave of dread. Bad sign. They shouldn't have burned him. An oppressive pressure built around his body. The Dragon, though not yet visible, was filling the arena with its Presence. Wild and otherworldly, the heat and pressure continued to build until he couldn't breathe. Claustrophobia set in and Hiei had to fight the urge to panic.

He had summoned the Dragon and the wretched beast was going to kill him for his audacity.

But then the pressure stopped increasing. The fiery aura pressing in on him eased slightly. Not going to kill him, then. It was a scare tactic. A demonstration of superior strength. Normally Hiei would maim any being who tried such tricks on him. He considered a moment, then decided that he could let it slide.

The panic that had been beginning to leave his system came screaming to life again as the world around him fell silent. The endless prattle of the announcer, the jeers of his opponent, the roar of the blood thirsty crowd... All of them were gone. Erased as completely as if they had never been. The heavy silence pushed in on him, nearly as oppressive as the earlier heat and pressure. Hiei attempted to speak and relieve the sudden stillness.

"_What the Hell is this?"_

No good. His voice was swallowed by the quiet before it ever had the chance to leave his throat. Not that anyone would have been able to hear him anyway. Every demon in the arena was still; frozen and ignorant to the display taking place before them. The air around him began to arc with the power and energy the Dragon was emitting. It was preparing to show itself.

_**Who calls for me? **_Hiei had to bite back a scream. The beast's voice, a growling roar of sound, rang inside his mind and seemed to reverberate through his entire being. Lesser creatures would have been destroyed by the sheer force of the Dragon's Presence. Since speaking wasn't an option, Hiei used his Jagan to respond to the Dragon's query.

_Jaganshi Hiei. _

_**The bastard child of fire and ice. Brazen of you to tempt me here. **_

If Hiei could have laughed, he would have.

_Desperate, more like. And stupid. Nonetheless, I wish to barter. _

The Dragon made a sound that was not unlike boulders crashing together. It took Hiei a moment to realize that the creature was laughing at him.

_ **I see. It was stupidity that saw you here, and stupidity shall see you out, is that it? Very well. I assume that you have an offering.**_

_Yes. The opponent who stands before me is yours for the taking. _

_ **That is not an offering. That is the nuisance you wish to be rid of. I want the onlookers. All of them. I will destroy your opponent, then I will take everyone in this stadium. You alone will remain untouched. Do we have a bargain?**_

__Hiei paused. He hadn't expected this. Everyone...? Did that include his team? He was barely able to stop himself from throwing a glance over his shoulder. If he agreed, he would be done with this wretched tournament forever. It would also be the end of his parole, he realized with a start. With Yusuke gone, Koenma would have no-one to send after him except the SDF, and they didn't have any hope of finding him without Kurama's knowledge. He would be free of it _all._

But he'd entered into an alliance. He remembered the Gates of Betrayal, Yusuke looking at him and saying _"I trust you." _

He remembered the idiotic look on Kuwabara's face as he accosted Yukina, remembered how hard he'd fought to protect her.

And Kurama. Kurama was...

Hiei nearly growled with frustration. He couldn't even try to negotiate the situation, to suggest that the Dragon take everyone _but _those three. Botan was here. Along with those human women that Yusuke and Kuwabara valued so highly. They would never forgive him if he–

Wait. Since when had he ever cared about forgiveness?

This time, he did attempt to growl. Of course, the sound was lost again, but he still felt a little better for the effort. When and how and why didn't matter. Not now. He could think about those things later. What mattered now was the choice. The one he'd already made. He sighed.

He was probably going to die for this.

_No._ _I made my offer._

_ **You are denying me? Do you realize that I could take them all with or without your permission?**_

_Yes. You could take them if you wished. There is not a thing I could do to stop you. But I will not hand them over. _

_ **How bold of you. I assure you, however, there is no need for such heroics. After all, these people are nothing to you. What point is there in protecting them?  
**My reason is my own and my answer is the same. What say you?_

There was a sudden scoff of amusement in the Dragon's voice when he spoke next._  
**such Strength. **_

__And then, just as suddenly, the tone was dark.

_** Tell me, are you afraid?  
**_Hiei hesitated only a fraction of a second before answering. _  
… Yes. I am afraid._

_ **And yet still this defiance.**_

The Dragon was silent a moment, and Hiei had to fight the urge to fidget nervously.

_**I will require a physical conduit. Since you are unwilling to sacrifice the onlookers, I will need something from you. A limb, perhaps. I cannot lend you my energy without a tether from this world. I warn you, it may cause you irreparable damage.**_

_I understand. Is that all?_

_ **Yes. Your opponent and a sacrifice of your own flesh. These are the things I require. Do we have a bargain?**_

__Hiei suffered no illusions. He was very much aware of how incredibly lucky he was to be getting off so lightly. The Dragon could very well have killed him for his audacity.

_We have a bargain. _

_ **Excellent. Shall we begin?**_

The voice disappeared then, along with intrusive pressure in his skull. The roar of the black fire along his skin returned, but this time he felt no pain. In the distance he could hear the renewed thunder of the audience, the gasp from his opponent, the fearful prattle of the announcer. It would seem that the Dragon had released whatever hold it had on them. They would never know how close he had come to losing this fight. The knowledge that they were completely unaware restored some of Hiei's confidence, and he gave into his urge to make the scene as dramatic as possible.

"You know, it's impossible to control it completely... Once I release it, I have no say. I have the power to pull you into oblivion. I assume just my right arm will do?"

The last was aimed at the Dragon, designating which limb was up for sacrificing. He was nervous about losing his dominant arm, but didn't want to risk alienating the beast by offering him anything else.

"You should never have insulted the Jagan eye. Because, you see, in a way it has its own mind and _loathes_ disrespect. Resisting it is not something I would do..."

The announcer said something else meaningless, but it was ground out by the roar of the Dragon's voice.

_**Release me now.**_

__"DRAGON OF THE DARKNESS FLAME!"

Pain ripped its way down Hiei's arm. A wave so agonizingly strong that he couldn't even scream. A tunnel of concentrated black flame shot from his extended limb, the face of the Dragon at its front. The satisfaction Hiei felt as he watched Zeru's face twist with disbelief and agony as the Dragon opened its jaws and devoured him made it all worthwhile.

Eventually both the flames and the smoke disappeared, leaving Hiei alone in the ring. The entire stadium was silent until the announcer popped her head up and climbed back to her post.

"Where's Zeru... Ah... There's his outline, at least."

She was referring to a scorch mark against the pavement of the wall in front of Hiei.

"Well, he's definitely out of the ring..."

"Believe me, he's not coming back. That cinder's all that's left."

"Yes, then I suppose counting to ten _would _be a little ridiculous. Let's give it up for Hiei!"

The crowd began to mumble uneasily and the score bored changed over to a satisfying 2-1.

"YEAH! We're punching our way to the top! Hiei can beat anyone with that move! ...Hiei can beat anyone with that move...? Am I listenin' to myself? What if he decides to be a bad guy again? WHAT IF HE DECIDES TO SHOOT _US _WITH THE DRAGON?" Kuwabara's voice was grating, but after the fear that his entire team would be obliterated, Hiei welcomed the sound. When he answered, his reply had a little less bite than was normal.

"Don't worry, fool. We've entered into an alliance and I'm not the type to break it. Of course, after we win the Tournament, I can't guarantee a thing– " His words were bitten off abruptly as a spasm of pain rocked his body. It was almost a given that Kuwabara would miss it, but Kurama would not.

Frustrated that his facade had been broken, Hiei turned to stalk off of the ring. He flexed his charred fingers experimentally in his pocket and had to bite down on his tongue to keep from crying out. A flash of self loathing shot through him like lightning. He had won the match, but only just. He had been stupid and weak and desperate. Made a thousand mistakes that could have ended the team. No. There was no glory. Not in any of it.

_**You did your team proud, Jaganshi Hiei.**_

__But perhaps there was glory in _that._


End file.
